Special Beam Cannon
or or or |similar='Death Beam Bang Beam Finger Galick Gun' }} is an energy wave technique in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, and is Piccolo's signature attack. It made its debut in "Piccolo's Plan", the 4th episode of Dragon Ball Z, which premiered on May 17, 1989. The technique is a very powerful laser beam created by Piccolo in order to destroy his then-arch-enemy, Goku. The move is performed by touching the index and middle fingers of one hand to the forehead and charging enough energy to attack. Its speed changes to the power level of the person performing the move. When ready, the fingers are extended forward, the attacker shouts the name of the attack and two thin ki beams are unleashed from the fingers. One remains straight while the other coils around the straight beam. The resulting beam is quite powerful, drilling through most targets, and exploding on the ones it can't. It can also be used with only one arm (as when Piccolo used it the for first time). The main disadvantage of the attack is the time required to build up enough energy for the focused burst, however, with enough concentration, this can be bypassed. It is the first technique in the series to be referred to as being faster than light, as Piccolo reasoned that Raditz had to be "faster than the speed of light" to evade it. Usage Piccolo first used the Special Beam Cannon in the battle against Raditz. The first time it is used, Raditz dodges and is only singed by it. The second time is a direct hit, killing both him and Goku in one shot. During his training with Piccolo, Gohan transforms into a Great Ape, so Piccolo uses the Special Beam Cannon to destroy the spaceship Goku used to come to Earth, which was projecting the image of the moon in the sky that caused the transformation. During the battle with Nappa, Piccolo used a blast with a similar appearance, though he fired it differently (both hands fully outstretched) and did not have to charge it up. He uses this same move while training with Gohan, only it is blue in color. Piccolo also uses it in the battle with Turles with little effect. The only other time he used it fatally is on Salza, Cooler's top henchman in the fifth Dragon Ball Z movie, Cooler's Revenge. He also used it to save Gohan from Bojack's energy ball in Bojack Unbound. Then Piccolo trains with several copies of himself in the episode "The Heavens Temble" all of the copies fire a Special Beam Cannon at the original Piccolo, only to have it blown away. In the anime, Piccolo uses it additional times when battling Garlic Jr. and as a mental projection created inside Super Buu's mind. The Special Beam Cannon is used freqently in the anime and video games by a number of heroes and villains alike. Because this skill is chosen in combat so much, one can assume that it is among the best techniques to use. Gohan also uses a very similar move while practicing with Krillin (in a mental battle) on the way to Namek, as if firing only the spiral around the beam, not the beam it self. Additionally, it is used by Cell twice, the Cell Juniors, and later by Super Buu after he absorbs Piccolo and Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, this move is also used by Future Gohan while in his Super Saiyan form. In the non-manga uses of this move, the charging time is much shorter, though the resulting blast is seemingly less powerful. Character meaning * 魔 (Ma) = Demon / evil / devil * 貫 (Kan) = Penetrate / pierce * 光 (Kō) = Light / ray / beam * 殺 (Satsu/Sa-) = Kill * 砲 (Hō/Pō) = Cannon / gun Trivia * In the ''Budokai'' series, the technique is colored purple instead of yellow. This coloration is also present in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and Super Dragon Ball Z. In Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2, Cell Jr. can use the attack, and his version is colored blue. * This move has only killed three people who are: Goku, Raditz, and Salza even though it was used many times in the series and movies. Category:Techniques Category:Offensive techniques Category:Beam Attacks